Lightning Owner Jeff Vinik has made several donations to "help individuals and small businesses hurt by the shutdown," according to John Romano of the TAMPA BAY TIMES. Vinik yesterday donated $100,000 to the city of Tampa, which follows a $100,000 donation to St. Petersburg last week. That follows a $50,000 donation to USF students in an "economic bind due to the virus." Vinik also made a $300,000 donation to Metropolitan Ministries to "provide food for families in need" and spent an estimated $200,000 on "public service announcements at the onset of coronavirus in March." Vinik said, "As this has evolved with so many people getting laid off, furloughed, becoming unemployed overnight, my wife (Penny) and I have had discussions about where do we think we can help." He added, "So what we hoped to do as a family is to try to bridge the next month or so between when people lost their income and when they will really start to get support from the government. We’ve tried to address basic human needs like food, like shelter, like utilities" (TAMPA BAY TIMES, 4/15).
